Page 111 of Beneath Scarred Vows

For the first time in my life, I feel as if my heart has left my body.

She's not here. She's gone.

"Katerina!" I yell. "Where are you?" I say and fire two more shots, my bullets lodging into the man's chest who was rushing me.

"Ares!" Katerina screams.

Fuck. I can't make out what direction she's in. It's too chaotic. Too many guns being fired. Too many people yelling.

"Katerina!" I call out, but she doesn't answer this time.

Someone runs past me and I jump out and grab them. We tumble to the floor and he punches me in the face. I lift his head up and slam it back into the ground.

He goes limp for a moment and I'm able to see his face. He's definitely not part of my crew nor the men that came with George.

"Where's my wife?" I say loud into the man's face, but he doesn't respond.

Suddenly one of my men approaches.

"Boss, we need to get you out of here," he says and grabs my arm.

I tug it away. "No! Find Katerina. Now!"

The man turns and fires in the direction of a loud crash. I turn to see a window explode, the curtains crashing to the ground, allowing more moonlight to come in.

I can get a better picture now.

It's mayhem. People running and firing everywhere.

But no Katerina.

Through the gunfire I hear tires screeching, and I get up and run toward the red taillights.

I aim at the car, but Theo grabs my hand and pushes it down. "She's in there."

"What?"

"They took her, Ares. Fuck, they took her," he says, panting.

I feel it again.

That ache in my chest, like my lungs are being ripped out of my body. The first time I ever felt it was the day I looked down at my father, covered in his own blood. And now, tonight, as I stare at those red taillights getting smaller and smaller, it's come back.

I do the only thing I can do.

I scream my own war cry into the darkness.

Suddenly, some lights in the clubhouse turn on and I turn and walk back inside.

"Ares, wait," Theo says, but I ignore him.

My gun is still in my hand and I'm going to find George Zervas and shoot him for setting me up and taking my wife.

I walk in and point my gun at George, whose back is to me.

"Wait, Ares," Dimitri says, holding up his good arm.

What remains of his men turn their guns on me, and my men do the same to them.